


Long Story Short, I Love You

by QueenoftheWallflowers



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bellamy Blake is a History & Mythology Nerd, F/M, Fluff, Gift Giving, Libraries, Romantic Fluff, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29457735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenoftheWallflowers/pseuds/QueenoftheWallflowers
Summary: Sure, the library may not be the most romantic place in the world, but Clarke is determined to make Valentine’s extra special for her boyfriend.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 65
Collections: The t100 Writers for BLM Initiative





	Long Story Short, I Love You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VegettoBlue63bellamy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VegettoBlue63bellamy/gifts).



> [](https://ibb.co/vqPyzzz)  
> Moodboard made by Me

Being in college meant that school and work took priority over their social life, and this was especially true for Bellamy who was not only on a scholarship but also paying for his and Octavia’s apartment and helping his sister out. 

And it wasn’t an issue, he made time for his friends, sometimes seeing them on the weekends when he was working at the bar or seeing them when they came into the library to study. They had brunch once a month. 

But it did become an issue when he started dating Clarke. 

The issue wasn't that Clarke demanded his time the issue was that he wanted to spend all his free time with his lovely girlfriend.

Time that he didn't have.

Most of his free time was dedicated to sleeping or doing laundry and studying, all things Clarke was more than happy to spend her time doing with him. But still he felt bad. 

So he when Valentine's Day comes around, he's the first one to request time off, and he gets it.

And he's excited. 

He makes plans to make her a home-cooked meal- buying all the ingredients to make garlic rice and some lechon kawaii and then some siopoa. He's excited to make some Filipino dishes for Clarke.

He talks with Luna about what kind of flowers to get her, the older girl suggesting some red carnations as Clarke had once mentioned that she wasn't fond of roses. 

He's excited and so is Clarke.

And of course it all falls apart two days before.

It starts with Fox- a freshman who gets sick with a cold. She needs someone to take her night shift at the library on Valentine's Day.

Harper and Monty had a double date with Jasper and Maya so she can't take the shift.

Luna and her girlfriend Anya have reservations that they can't cancel.

So Bellamy with a sinking heart, offers to take her shift. 

\---

Clarke interlaces her fingers with Bellamy's and gives him a soft smile.

"It's fine Bellamy."

He runs his other hand through his hair, guilt written across his feature.

"No it's not. You don't deserve this. I promised you an amazing Valentine's Day and a traditional Filipino meal and instead I have to work."

She sigh and scoots onto his lap, her hand reaching to cup his face, "Bell, there will be other Valentine's Days, other holidays, other times you can make me Filipino food. We can celebrate another day, okay?"

Bellamy's heart jumps hearing her say that there will be other Valentine's Days, but he still feels guilty.

It's their first Valentine's Day and some days he still can't believe that she's his girlfriend and all he wants to do is do something special for her.

But now he can’t.

Clarke can tell he still feels bad about having to work on Valentine’s Day despite her reassurances so she leans in and kisses him softly. 

They exchange soft kisses for a while, his hands slipping under her shirt while her hands mess up his already messy hair.

Eventually he picks her up and carries her to his room. 

They get ready for bed, the two of them standing in the shower together, his hands washing her hair gently while she washes his back, pressing a kiss to a few freckles she sees. They curl up in bed together, foreheads pressed together.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Bellamy falls asleep first, exhaustion on his face and Clarke takes the time to think.

Just because Bellamy is working doesn't mean they can't celebrate.

* * *

She calls Octavia Blake the next day, explaining what she needs from the girl and they skip class to go to the grocery store. They hold up in Clarke’s apartment, reading Aurora’s cookbook.

(Octavia had sworn up and down to her mother to never show the book unless it was family and as far as she is concerned Clarke is family. She’s pretty sure her brother is going to marry her one day. So no harm in showing her the family recipes.) 

After the second failed attempt they exchange looks and Clarke runs a hand through her hair.

"I'll call Murphy."

Half an hour later, Murphy is over, groceries in his hand. 

He bosses the girls around having them chop up garlic and onion, and having them mix the ingredients together. 

A few hours later, the kitchen smells delicious and Clarke packs it all up, in boxes, tying red ribbons on everything. 

She finishes a paper on love for her philiosphy class and then spends the rest of the night, writing on her the fancy paper Wells sent her from when he went to study abroad. She uses her best handwriting and her special color pens and color pencils for her drawings. 

This year, Valentine's Day is on a Friday, so the professor's are well aware that the students all have weekend plans. Clarke spends her class time, getting her work done. She wants to get everything done before she sets her plan into motion.

When she gets home after class, she showers and gets changed, blow drying her hair and curling into soft curls. She slips into some jeans and one of Bellamy's many shirts she has stolen and then packs up her car, loading it up with the food and blankets and grabs her id.

Bellamy’s Valentine’s Day starts off like any other day- he goes to class, has lunch with his sister, more classes, takes a nap and then goes to work at the library.

What isn’t normal is the red carnation that is left on the front desk of the library with his name in Clarke’s handwriting. He picks the flower up carefully holding it up to nose to smell its sweet fragrance. He smiles, touched by the sweet gesture. He has never been given flowers before.

He sends her a quick thank you text and a promise that he’s taking her out for a special date on a later day when he’s not working or exhausted. Then he sits at his desk. His job is boring. He checks ids, gives students directions to printers, and occasionally has to go break up couples that are hidden in between shelves. He checks the study rooms and then makes sure no one is being too loud on the silent floor.

Since it’s going to be a long night, he’s got his laptop. He had finished all his coursework in preparation of his date with Clarke so now he had time to work in a paper not due for a few weeks and watch a few movies on Netflix.

He supposes he could ask Clarke to Netflix party with him but it pales in comparison to what he had planned for them. He sighs disappointed that this how he’s spending how Valentine’s Day but at least he’s making some money. 

Clarke knows that Bellamy is manning the entrance closer to the school so she uses the one closer to the parking lot to enter. She nods her head at the bored freshman who doesn’t bat an eye at her carrying all her stuff.

She drops all her stuff on a table out of Bellamy’s sight and grabbing the bouquet of carnations she sets off into the library stacks, leaving flowers in certain sections, entering the study room he once tutored her in, a flower taped in the bathroom he fucked her in after a late night tutoring session. 

She’s having fun taking a trip down memory lane, she’s forgotten how much time they have spent here in the library together.

And tonight will be one more memory, one more moment they will spend in the library.

She scans the desk for someone who she can bother that isn't studying too hard.

She spots the perfect person, a few tables down, playing on his phone while his friends study.

She grabs the final carnation and a twenty dollar bill and slams it in front of him, causing the boy to look up.

"I will pay you twenty dollars to give them to the guy manning the front desk and tell him to read the note attached."

"What is this high school? You got a crush on him or something?"

Clarke ignores his snickering, "I'm giving five seconds or I'll ask someone else. I'm sure someone else would love to be able to get coffee all week."

She grins as the boy snatches the carnation and the money up and makes his way downstairs.

The way of a college student's heart- food and drink.

She grabs her boxes and makes her way to the front desk, peeking around the corner to see Bellamy heading out of his desk and grins as she his co-worker Riley taking his place.

She knows him and she knows that once she explains what she plans to do, Riley will be willing to help.

“Hey Riley.”  
He flashes her a smile eying the boxes, “I’m guessing you’re the one behind the flower?”  
She shrugs unpacking the box and pulling another chair next to the desk.  
“Bellamy had to work and he was bummed about not celebrating so I figured we could celebrate here.”  
“That’s cute.”  
He heads her set up and then agrees to watch the stuff and not eat anything while she goes to meet her boyfriend on the little scavenger hunt she sent him on.

Bellamy’s not sure what to think when the boy slams the carnation on the desk, “Some chick paid me twenty to give you this and tell you to read the note.“  
He adds the carnation he just got to the one from earlier and smiles. He picks up the small note.  


_Surprise! Wanted to do something special because you make me feel special ever day we’ve been together. So go to the place in the library where we first met._

Bellamy smiles at his girlfriend's writing, curious as to what this is. 

He gets Riley to watch the desk, telling him that he needs to run upstairs really quick.

He met Clarke at the printers, he was running late and needed to print something for class, when his card told him that he had no more printing money, he had been in near tears when he had smelled her apple blossom scented perfume and she had offered to swipe her card. He called out the name of the bar and told her that he owed her a drink. 

She had shown up, flashes her id and then spent the rest of the night nursing her drink as they talked in between him serving drinks. She was cute and funny and smart and he was a goner.

Now here they are a year later, the two of them together.

The printer where they met has another carnation sitting on it and he picks it up, twirling it around his fingers.

_I remember the first time I saw you, your hair was a mess, you looked like you wanted to cry and all I wanted to do was hug you. But instead I paid for your printer and the smile you gave me- it took my breath away. It takes my breath away every time you smile at me. I think your smile might be one of my favorite things about you. Next go to the place you kissed me._

He kissed Clarke in the history aisle, he had seen her walk into the library and during his break he tried to look for her to find her sitting there, her nose buried in the Illiad. When he had asked her what she was doing, her cheeks had gone pink and she had tucked a curl behind her ear.  
"I wanted to read your favorite book, you love it so much, talk about it all the time, and I wanted to be able to talk about it with you."  
It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for him and he had cupped her face, kissing her softly, wondering how he got so lucky to have such an amazing and caring girl in his life.

The carntation was on top of a book and he opens the cover to see in Clarke's handwriting-  
_Property of Bellamy Blake_ and under it, another note,  
_The first time you kissed me, it was because you saw me reading your favorite book simply cause I wanted to know what you were taking about, you said afterwards that no one ever had ever done something like that for you. And that day, I told myself that I was going to give you the world. You have changed my life, made my life, my world and I want you to know you matter. You are so selfless, always using your heart to take care of others, and I'm so happy and lucky to not only have you take care of me but to be able to take care of you. Now, go the study room, you know which one I'm talking about._

Bellamy flips through the book and gasps, it's a book full of Filipino myths about the gods and the goddess. The illustrations are beautiful and the stories are even more beautiful.

Bellamy's sure that he must look ridiculous with the huge grin on his face, holding the carnations up to his nose like a lovesick fool, the book pressed to his chest. How did he get so lucky?  
Since he and Clarke have been together, she's been the one he's confided in him. She's the one who brings him food when he's studying or comes over to check on him. She's the one who pulls him away from his books to take a break, who sits at the bar during trivia and kisses him everytime he gets a question right, even though he's not officially playing. She had gone with him to the cementary because she knows he hates going alone and sits down, talking to his mother like she knows her and it makes his heart swell with love for her.  
Being with Clarke, it's nice to have someone take care of him for a change, to be soft and vunerable with her in a way he can never be with his sister.

The study room Clarke was talking about was located in the far corner of the library, with a nice window. It was also the room they holed up in and he had convinced her to call an art gallery about her work.

The room is empty, and on the desk is another carnation and another note.  
_This is where you convinced me that my art was something to be shared with other, that it would change lives. You believed in when my own mother, my ex girlfriend, or any of my exes did. You believed in me and I need you to know that I believe in you. Bellamy when you talk about history your eyes light up, you get so happy, your hands moving, facts and stories spilling from your lips it’s breathtaking really. You Bellamy Blake are going to be one hell of a teacher. How can you not be? You have a passion for history and it’s that passion that’s going to make you your students favorite teacher. You are going to change their lives the way you changed mine. I may know nothing about the the princess of Russia or remember who Queen Isabella was married to or how many papers Hamilton wrote or who Plato is but I would gladly listen to you talk all day about them if it means seeing you light up as you talk about something you are passion about. Speaking of seeing yourself go to the bathroom on the first floor._

Taped into the mirror is another carnation and another note. 

_I don’t have a big story here but I just wanted to say that I love your freckles and I love you._

The note directs him to the elevator where a girl look amused as he pulls the rose taped to the wall off.  
"Secret admirer?"  
"Not a secret, she's my girlfriend."  
"That's sweet."  
The girl gets off the elevator and he leans aganist the wall to read the note.  
_So you're probably wondering what this was all about, besides telling you some of things I love about you, and some of my favorite memories with you, and reminding you that I love you a lot, this was also meant to get you away from your desk so I can set up for our date. I know you may find this hard to believe but Bellamy, I like being with your whether it's on your couch, or hanging out at the bar while you work, so here I don't care as long as it's with you. I know you were looking foward to showing your love for me with a homecooked meal today but I just wanted to spend time with you. I love you. We have so many memories here from holding hands while you browse for books, to kissing each other in between the shelves, to the time I couldn't reach the top shelf and you teased me, to me sketching you while you worked, to the time I pulled an all nighter and woke up to find a blanket over my shoulders and some tea in front of me, that it was hard to pick a few but each one was simply a reminder that I love you. Long story short, I love you. You make every day, every moment better. See you at your desk._

* * *

The first thing Bellamy sees when he steps off the elevator is Clarke.  
He registers Riley leaving from the corner of his eyes but his attention is on his blonde girlfriend who is smiling at him.  
He drops the book and the flowers at their feet, his hands cupping her face as he kisses her, she melts into his arm and into the kiss her hands landing on his arms.  
When he pulls away, he presses a soft kiss to her forehead, "I love you so much. Thank you, this has been the best Valentine's Day ever."  
Her blue eyes are soft as she looks at him and she rises to her toes to kiss him softly before pulling away and gesturing to the desk in front of them.

"Octavia and I tried cooking but Murphy ended up helping cause I wanted it to be perfect. It's your mom's recipe but don't worry Murphy didn't touch it or even read it, we just kinda gave him the ingreidents and he worked his magic."  
He eyes the garlic rice and the lumpia she brought and smiled touched by the fact that she went out of her way to try to make him some food.  
"I can't believe you did all of this."  
She wraps her arms around his waist, "I love you and I wanted to spend the day with you. So you have your laptop and I brough blankets so I was thinking we eat and watch something and then when your shift is over we go home and sleep and then tomorrow you can make me breakfast or we can cook dinner before you head to the bar."  
"You thought of everything, didn't you."

She gets the laptop step up, picking out a show they both love and he gathers the flowers he dropped and the book and places them in his bag.  
"You got me flowers."  
She throws the blanket over his legs as he sits next to her and laugh, "You're always buying me some so I figured it's time to return the gesture. This is an equal flower distrubution relationship."  
He holds the container of rice in between them and she hands him a spoon for his rice and a napkin and hand santizer. 

As far as Valentine's dates go, this is the best one ever and he has a hard time picturing a better way to spend it. Clarke's right, he can cook and teach her to cook another day, tomorrow's looking like a good day.

But being with her is the best way to spend it.  
He's always going to be working hard, working long hours but as long as he has Clarke, he's happy.  
There aren't many people who would be willing to be with someone who is always busy but Clarke cherishes every moment they have together, no matter how small it is and likewise he cherishes those moments to.  
He's busy now, working hard but one day he's going to get her a ring and a few puppies and he's going to be able to sleep in with her arms and relax on the couch and dance her around the kitchen and take her out of dates where they will only need to worry about the baby-sitter and not another job.

He's got plans for his future and sure it's only been a year, but he knows that Clarke is his future.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as part of t100 writers for BLM initiative and we are still taking prompts. Please check out our carrd to [t100fic4blm.carrd ](https://t100fic-for-blm.carrd.co/) find out more information about what we do, who is a part of it, and how much has been raised for BLM


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